Lost:
by Tyrne J
Summary: Alternate Universe fic - boy, do I love them - it's a little confusing, but I'll work on it a little more as I go. Future insert character warning, and 4x? ... Please r+r!
1. :1

Disclaimer: Mobile Suit Gundam Wing belongs to its respectful owners, Sunrise, Bandai, and the other companies whose names have never truly surfaced in my mind, but do own Gundam Wing regardless of whether I remember them or not.I do not own the rights to Gundam Wing, and this fic is written for entertainment purposes only, and not for profit. 

Warnings:4x?, probably some shounen ai/ yaoi in there somewhere.Future appearances of insert character.Angst.And some bastardization of computer junkie terms.Be forewarned.

Rating:PG, so far.I'm trying to be safe here, but I may up it if I decide to be more cautious.

Setting:Alternate Universe (AU)

t_j:Well, I did it; I dug myself in a hole.Dragoni was bored, and I decided to find something that will keep her occupied for the time being.And, knowing full well that she was a fanfic author, and being a fanfic author myself, I came up with a fanfic challenge for her to write to.And she basically told me that if she had to write a fic for that challenge - I won't tell you what it is, else it'd really mess things up ^_^ - then I had to write for it, too.So, here it is, be it good or not.Hope you enjoy it, minna-san, and please read and review this!Thanks!

~~~

Lost

by Tyrne_J

A long time ago, someone told me that if one was ever lost while traveling in the space, that person was as good as dead.It never bothered me before - in this profession, we're already dead - but now, as I watched someone else entering for the first time, the words of that man came back to ring in my ears.

And the thought scares me.

Not that the man still lived in my memory - that actually was a relief of sorts, that I could still remember - but the thought that one could still get lost in the space, even after all these centuries of technological studies designed specifically for survival there; that was frightening.

Hilde nodded curtly at us, her lips pursed and her eyes grim as she gripped the armrests of her chair tightly.

"I'm ready.Let's do this."

Beside me, Howard gave a low chuckle and began to enter in Hilde's coordinates, winking at me as he typed away."Looks like the newbie's ready, eh?Good thing we're sending someone to look after her; she looks a little _too_ excited for this."A few more taps, and he looked up again."So, you ready, Heero?"

"Ready."The low voice answered steadily, and I knew, without looking at him, that the man was staring at the tiles above him, as if trying to see through them.

And now it was my turn.I turned to check the stats screen, and found what I was looking for."'K, Heero, you have Wing, and since Hilde's not initiated yet, she'll be tagging onto your system, so make sure to compensate."Not really new stuff; they were briefed on this before, so it wasn't as if I was telling them something that should surprise them."Remember, the object of this is to just skim for a bit, get a little info, and then back out.We'll need more time to plan what's next, so don't try anything we'll all regret."

"Okay." "Hn."

Being the newbie, Hilde needed some sort of initiation, and everyone else had decided that this was the lightest trip we could put on her, without putting on too much of a strain.A former trainee for OZ, she had some experience in pulsing, but for this - with us - it was slightly different.

I tugged my headphones over my head, adjusting the microphone until it hung just beneath my lips."Okay, initiating send-off."I tapped a little on the keyboard in front of me, and heard an affirmative beep.

I raised my hand to the screen above me, and the reflection caught my eye.Blue eyes, and several strands of blonde hair, swinging to cover a round, kind-looking face.And, despite the seriousness of Hilde's send-off, I found myself smiling as I watched the blonde give orders to the men behind him.

And that was when the words of the old man swept through my head as if he were right beside me, as if I were the one taking the first trip into the space.

_Once you're lost, you're as good as dead - _

I didn't remember hitting the tag, but when I looked up again, they were already inside.The soft sounds of the other techs applauding behind me covered the faint whirring sounds of Wing as it came to life, and I could see the pilots' stats gradually move toward an acceptable state inside the assist's shield. 

There was a hand on my shoulder, and I looked up at Quatre."Hey," he said, a small grin on his face."Let's go get something to eat.Wing's got it covered for the moment."

"Sure."I stood up, grabbed my jacket.He looked at me questioningly - it was summer, and also unusually hot for this area - but I ignored the look, because I couldn't stop thinking about what that man said.

Losing myself in the space is one thing - like I said before, I'm as good as dead.But losing someone else - 

- especially someone special to me, someone I'd give everything just to - 

That's an entirely different thing.


	2. :2

Disclaimer: Mobile Suit Gundam Wing belongs to its respectful owners, Sunrise, Bandai, and the other companies whose names have never truly surfaced in my mind, but do own Gundam Wing regardless of whether I remember them or not.I do not own the rights to Gundam Wing, and this fic is written for entertainment purposes only, and not for profit. 

Warnings:4x?, probably some shounen ai/ yaoi in there somewhere.Future appearances of insert character.Angst.And some bastardization of computer junkie terms.Be forewarned.

Rating:PG, so far.I'm trying to be safe here, but I may up it if I decide to be more cautious.

Setting:Alternate Universe (AU)

~~~

Lost: 2

I love him.Plain and simple.The realization had even come as a shock to me; less than a year ago I would never have dreamed of loving anyone, yet now I can't think of living without him.

I walked behind him, watching him poke fun at Wufei for cutting his hair.Quatre was, and always will be, a kind-hearted man; after ten months with us, he never faltered in his belief that any conflict can be solved with understanding and kindness, and that was what made him so likeable among even the sourest of the techs.Yet, while he valued peace, he still chose to fight with us, and is one of the best pilots I've ever seen.

I could remember being surprised at his joining the resistance - he was part of a highly pacifistic family, and, while he may have been able to navigate the space, was not expected to show up practically at our doorstep to request placement.But he was stubborn, and insisted on being assigned to some operation - I don't remember anymore which, ten months seems like ten years now - because he "wanted to help."

We all had our reasons for joining the resistance, but his reason - 

Maybe that's why I love him.Because he has an incredible respect for life.Because the world needed more people like him - people who wanted to help.Maybe that's why - 

Actually, I can't really remember why I love him.Memory loss - that's what comes with working with an assist for too long.Or when your system crashes on you - that was what happened to me several days ago, on some routine mission I remember sometimes, but at the moment I don't know where it was, or what it was for.But the assist's system crashed in the middle of the mission, and I had to get dragged back on another assist's tail.

And - maybe this was why I love him - I remember waking up, and seeing Quatre hovering above me, shaking me, saying something - 

"So," Wufei was talking to me.He had stopped in front of the makeshift diner in our station and was motioning everyone else in."She said - hey, com'on, there's a lunch discount, and we're about to miss it! - where was I?Yeah, and she said... "He nodded a little as he held the door open for me, a slight smile on his lips as he continued his story. 

I had to hold back a smirk at Wufei's chivalry.The people you run into while you're in the resistance - thinking about it, one had to wonder how people survived under OZ's rule - there was nothing hidden about OZ's methods, yet, even as they suffered at the hands of the company's soldiers, the people still believed that there was no other life way to live.Wufei's sense of honor and justice was not tolerated in most areas.Not even Quatre's family could understand what was so important about freedom; he'd tried explaining to them before he left, but only one sister, Iria, came with him when he joined us.He left twenty-eight sisters and his father, and all for peace... 

Quatre...

"Are you alright?"Quatre looked at me, eyes wide in concern.Beside him, Terrace, one of the communications officers, blinked, and turned her attention to me.I nodded slowly at Quatre, suddenly aware that her arm was slung around his shoulder, and that she was still holding the fork she had used to feed him part of her food.

"I'm fine."_Really, I was.There was no problem..._

He repeated my gesture, head moving up and down slowly as if he didn't believe me - _Maybe he didn't_ - But Terrace nodded quickly and tugged on his arm.

"So, how was it?You never answered me."The blond-haired woman tugged again until Quatre looked back at her."What do you think of the food here?"

He grinned and waved his own fork."It's just as bad as at the L4 base."Duo, I don't know how you grew up on this stuff."

Duo smirked from across the table, tapping lightly on the table with his left hand."Simple.No taste buds."He indicated his tongue and laughed.

"So," Wufei began, leaning over to look at the others at the table, "How well do you think that girl's going to work with the assists?"

There was a collective groan, then Quatre spoke up.

"You've brought this up on breaks every time, ever since she came here.It's not because she's a girl, is it?"

The dark-haired man frowned."No, it's - "Caught, he took another gulp of his glass of water."Well, I mean, she was an OZ pilot.I know she's been through the tests, so she's as clean as the rest of us, but their systems are still drastically different.They didn't have assists, more like... lines.And, well, if she's just tagging along, then - then she might - take a line instead of keeping with Wing."He finished with a defeated air, and took a long drink from his other glass.

"She could get lost."Terrace suddenly said, and she gripped Quatre's arm tighter, her dark eyes watering a little."I would never want the one I love to be lost like that."For a moment, she seemed lost in her own thoughts, but then she straightened and looked back up at Quatre."I'm sorry, I got carried away."

The man grinned a little."That's okay.Everyone feels that way some time or another."

Wufei harrumphed and sighed heavily."So, if I didn't bring up a good topic, does anyone else?"

"Heh, what about those L4 girls, Quatre?" a voice piped up from behind Wufei."You never told us if they were any good."There was a burst of laughter, and the conversation shifted towards another corner of the room.

I watched as Terrace lowered her eyes again, mouthing something to herself in the dim diner light.

_"think about it."_

And what she said suddenly hit me in full force._I would never want the one I love to be lost like that._

Neither would I.If I could, I'd be there on every mission he takes.If something were ever to happen to him - 

I could hear tapping from beside me.Who was tapping?_Damn my degraded memory - _

Just to keep him from living - or would it be dying? - in the space, with no other chance of return - 

_I would do anything - _

_- even if he's happier with _her_ - _

Duo's hand continued to tap on the table, and Quatre suddenly looked over, concerned.

"Duo?"

Terrace blinked as Quatre removed himself from her grip, then she turned her head to look at Duo."Duo, what's wrong?"

"Huh?"

Wufei now noticed the continuous tapping, and he winced."Hey, what's - "

Violet eyes suddenly dilated, and Duo choked, the fork falling from his fingers as he stiffened and paled, jerking his head back.

"DUO!"

And I watched as the occupants of the entire table rushed forward to catch a falling mess of black and chestnut.


End file.
